Was Pride appearing at this exact moment really a coincidence?
Was it truly just coincidence that a demon powerful enough for Wrath to warn me about would show up now of all times?
I tapped my fingers, thinking of Wrath locked away in the prison.
Had Pride simply stepped forward because there were so few Great Demons left?
Or was this deployment part of some larger design?
My thoughts were stained with all kinds of suspicion and distrust.
“Pride…….”
No. That wasn’t it.
Honestly, the suspicion and distrust were not as important as I was making them out to be.
If this was coincidence, I simply had to accept it and deal with it.
If it was someone’s scheme, I could marvel at how covertly it had been arranged while preparing a way to respond.
—Has the Apostle of Pride made a move……?
There were exactly three reasons I was reacting so sensitively to Pride’s appearance, and together they overlapped into one.
For example: Pride was dangerous enough that Wrath had warned me about it; I was considering taking a step back from the battlefield; and if I withdrew, the burden on the Inquisitor would increase.
The point where those three circumstances intersected was the true center of my intense irritation and anxiety.
—A-Are you certain? The Apostle of Pride may be stronger than ordinary Apostles, but surely not enough to cause something on this scale…….
—Well, we received testimony that a pentagram engraved with a feather was seen on the altar they were erecting in the center of the city. Even then?
By that point, I wanted to leave.
If I stayed, it seemed like all I would hear was the…